How Raising Minimum Wage Can Help Families

The wages a company pays its employees has a direct effect on the employee’s family members and how they contribute to society. The minimum wage rate within a state can be so disproportionate to that area’s cost of living that it doesn’t cover the basics for an individual, let alone a family. Minimum wage hikes can have a positive immediate and long-term impact on the quality of life for families and their communities.

More Family Time

A higher minimum wage means that parents are less likely to work overtime or more than one job to provide for their families. The less time parents spend at work, the more time they have to spend with their families, which fosters better bonds within the family unit. Increased minimum wages also improve the quality of family time as parents are less likely to be distracted and stressed over money issues while they’re spending time with their families.

Improved Health

For minimum wage workers who don’t have a company benefit plan and must pay for health costs out of pocket, increased wages means more money to spend on their family’s health. A higher minimum wage translates to more money for checkups, X-rays and other procedures that could lead to serious illness if neglected.

Lower Dropout Rates

In families that are barely making ends meet, children often feel pressured to contribute to the family income as soon as they’re old enough to work. An increase in minimum wages can minimize that pressure for teenagers and lessen the likelihood that they’ll drop out of school to work full time.

Education Opportunities

The ability to set aside money for the future is a luxury rarely afforded to minimum wage workers. If minimum wages increase, families are more likely to be able to put money toward college funds for their children. Post-secondary education, in turn, gives people better job opportunities, which can result in those children going on to break the cycle of living at or below the poverty line.

Reduced Crime Rates

When families are scarcely getting by, one or more family members can feel the motivation to bring in money by any means possible. This desperation can lead a person into such illegal pursuits as theft, drug trafficking and prostitution.

Reduced Social Assistance

In some states, the minimum wage rate is comparable to the amount of income one could receive on social assistance. For the “working poor,” having a full-time job that pays roughly the same amount that an unemployed person receives on social assistance can be so discouraging that collecting social assistance becomes a more appealing option than employment. When minimum wages increase to become significantly more than social assistance, the number of people on welfare lowers, and more taxpayer money frees up to go back into improving other areas of a community.

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